The Campbell Family Cancer Research Institute

Our Research Pillars

STEM CELLS IN CANCER
Finding the Root of Cancer

The Princess Margaret has an ongoing legacy of groundbreaking success in stem cell research, starting from Drs. James Till and Ernest McCulloch’s discovery of stem cells in 1961, to Dr. John Dick’s discovery of colon cancer stem cells in 2006. As Dr. Dick explains, “you can keep cutting the leaves off a weed, but the weed will regrow. But if you cut the tap roots, the leaves will wither away. Killing the cancer stem cells is the equivalent of killing the root of the weed.” Further cancer stem cell research will unlock clues to find more targeted treatments that can eliminate cancer without damaging healthy tissue.

IMMUNOTHERAPY
Priming the Immune System to Fight Cancer

Harnessing the body’s own immune system to fight cancer is the focus of a promising new approach called immunotherapy. The Princess Margaret is proud to lead Canada’s most comprehensive immunotherapy program. Dr. Pamela Ohashi and her team recently opened Canada’s first clinical trial to test a specific class of immunotherapy called Adoptive T-Cell Therapy, a truly personalized approach that can only be developed in leading comprehensive cancer centres like The Princess Margaret.

TUMOUR BIOLOGY AND IMAGING
Getting the Complete Picture of Cancer

At The Princess Margaret, we’re leading the way in developing therapies tailored to each tumour’s specific composition and vulnerabilities. In the same way that cancers differ from one person to another, cancer cells within a single tumour can also behave differently from each other. Using innovative imaging technologies to better understand tumour biology and the complete environment of individual cancers, we are developing therapies to effectively treat all cells within a tumour.

Every patient has a unique combination of genetic mutations which affect how their tumours localize, grow and respond to therapy. At The Princess Margaret, our researchers are decoding genetic mysteries that offer new insights into cancer biology and behaviour. By understanding the role of genes in driving the development of tumours, our clinicians will be better equipped to predict tumour behaviour, and optimally select individualized therapies that will be best suited to each patient’s genetic makeup.

Our world-class clinicians and researchers at The Princess Margaret are developing ways to understand each patient’s cancer at its origins. Their research is unravelling the biochemical, molecular and cellular signaling pathways that determine how tumours develop. Not only will this help us understand why patient outcomes can be so different, but it will also lead us to new drugs to target and optimize each patient’s specific condition.